Dump-car.



C. H. CLARK.

DUMP CAR.

APPLICATION FILED IULYI5.190H.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR. L. M

A TTORNE Y.

Fly. 5

WITNESSES:

C. H. CLARK.

DUMP CAR.

APPLICATION FILED 1uLv15. 190a.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R m w m WITNESSES A TTORNE Y.

C. H. CLARK.

DUMP CAR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY :5, I908.

1,136,315. Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

a sums-sum 8.

OOOOGOOIO WITNESSES IN V EN TOR.

4 1 x4 ead/ ArToRNEn' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. CLARK. OF GRAFTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO CLARK CAR COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH. PENNSYLVANIA, A ('JORIORfiTION' OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' DUMP-can.

Application filed July 15, 1908. Serial 170.4483.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, cum. H. CLARK, a

resident of Grafton, in the county of Alle-' gheny and State of Pennsylvania, have inented certain new and useful Improvements in Dump-Cars, of which the following is a minimized, and results in-an economy of material as the length of the longitudinal members of the car body decrease with an increase in the cross-section of load space.

The invention relates primarily to dump cars, and the feature of load-space of maximum cross-sectional area is attained, in part, '.y an improved under-f ame so constructed that the body 'or hopper i'ssustained in a relatively low position. The result is.

that a substantial portion of the load is in and below the draft plane, z'.-e., the plane of the draft beams, resulting in a low center of gravity which is highly desirable.

A further feature of the invention, and

one quite essential to the attainment of maximum load cross-sectionfor a iven height clearance, is the arrangement 0 bot-.

tom doors which operate in such manner as to occupy no appreciable part of the vertical clearance space when opening and clos ing. In t'hepresent adaptatitm, the doors operate in a substantially horizontal plane, the doors being inclined in accordance with the angle ot'l'riction ol' the material hauled, and remaining inclined while moving bodily 'when opening and closing. Provision is also lrad for slightly increasing the inclination of I the doors whilvo ening, determined by op erating conditions. A. feature of the door construction is the provision of means for preventing the discharge f material through the crack that may form between the doors when closed.

Another feature ot 'tlle invention is the improved do n'-opcratihg mechanism which has direct shifting connection with the doors, avoiding chains, links, and other intermediate parts liabl'e to uncven wear, disorder and inell'eetive operation.

It is characteristic of thcpresent embodi-- ment of direct-connected operating mechanism that the shifting connection is maintained and operates in a horiwntal plane, the advantage of which is the simplicity of mechanism required and the facility with which the oppositely moving doors are operated in perfect unison.

A further feature of the invention is the arrangement of the draft beams with refer ence to the longitudinal beams of the frame, the latter being connected by transverse beams to which, in turn, the draft beams are secured, whereby the moment strains of the transverse beams are availed of to form an appreciable yielding or flexible conneetion, and-to that extent compensate the draft. forces and cause the frame to withstand the same more effectively than in those construe tions wherein the draft and longitudinal beams are so directly connected as to preclude compensation. v

The best friction draft gears for car couplers will not compensate more than-180,000 pounds; but it has been found that the amount when cars in. motion come in contact with cars standing still, and at other times during the movement of long trains. This has resulted in'high repair'cost for draft sills, which my invention greatly reduces by increasing the flexible resistance of the car frame, and using the frame against the higher draft forces as a part of the yielding draft rig.

Still a further object is to rovide an improved. chord for the top e ge of the car, the same being designed to economically resist the compression strains due to supportingthe major portion of the load on the side girders. Also, the improved chord resists the wear and prevents damage usually resulting from clamping the car when in a car dumping machine, and prevents m]ury when Patented Apr. 2o, 1915.

.draft forces run ashigh as twice this 40 tudinal beams connection with the door. Fig. is a similar view, enlarged, of the meeting edges of the doors.

In ada ting the invention to a dump car,

. 5 as here 5 own, the longitudinal beams 2 of the under-frame are spaced apart to admit therebetween' hoppers 3. While the side beams do in'efl'ect extend as far as the body bolster 5, the main beams 2 preferably stop short of the latter and are provided with extension members 2 which in reality form parts of the side beams.

The extremities of beam extensions 2 are connected by the transverse beam 4, which I term the bolster beam, as it forms the bottom cover-plate 'for bolster in the present adaptation said beam being of greater area than the usual bottom coverlate. Spaced inwardly and toward the cams 4 and 6 It is desirable that the ca; frame shall as far as possible c'orlpensate the draft forces. but such result is not. possible where the draft and longitudinal beams are so connected that the full force oi the tension and compression strains are of necessity transmitt-ed from one to the other. \Vith the construction herein proposcih the momentstrains f the transverse beams el and i are availed of. and to that extent the rigidity of the connection between the draft and longi;

is relaxed and the strains compensated.

The dumping feature of the car is here embodied in two oppositely moving doors -10 disposed longitudinally of the car and which when closed meet in a line interseating the car center. with the e ter edges of the doors uudez'lapping the sloping side walls 11 of the. hopper. The doors are preferably inclined in accordance with the angle 0 of friction of the material to be transported, and provision is bad for holding the doors inclined during their movement bodily while opening and closingf The doors are thus sustained by the transverse track-like memers secured to the under portion of the car body at each end of the pairof doors, the end 10 of each door being provided with a wheel 13 secured near the 'upper or outer edge of the door. and a wheel 14 near its inner or lowercdge. said wheels being movable on the track members 12, as shown.

A clmracteristic of the invention. is the movement of thedoors bodily in a substantially horizontal plane. also the llolilent-allyoperating door actuating mechais .8 the latter nism presently to be described. As "such mechanism is by preference connected to the' upper or outer portion of the door, provision is had for that portion of the door 7 moving in a horizontal plane. To this: end, 7t, the outer portions 15 of tracks 12 are substantially horizontal. In some instances, it is desirable to slightly increase the inclination of the doors as they open, and to accomplish this the inner portions of the tracks or supports 12 are inclined from the center outwardly and downwardly, as indicated at 16, these being the portions of the tracks traversed by wheels 14. Thus it will be seen that while wheels 13 move back and forth so in a horizontal plane. wheels 14 drop slightly as the doors open and to that extent increase the inclination of the latter. \Vhile track 12, considered as a whole from one side of the car to the other, has the inclined portions 35 1.6 embodied in an elongated substantially U-shaped depression of the track, such construction is incidental and not essential.

in the transportation of comminuted materials, iron ore for example, there is considmgr-able waste through the crack, however small, between the doors. Ioverome this v 'providing anaut'oinatic seal, which consists of a channel-like extension'on one "of the doors which underlaps the other door. The channel is wide. enough to cover a crack of any usual prtmortions, and the hollow of the channel is upward and is of such depth that the angle of repose of the material which flows therein from the crack will'be 10 0 wholly within the channel. Such anglei s indicated by the line A-A, Fig. 5.1 Channel IT is preferably formedon the lower edge of the downward door-extension 18,-

and the other door. has, a similar extension v 1! which moves in the vertical plane of channel 17 when the doors close. The channel may be variously formed, and while extensions 1S and 19 are preferred they are- 7 not essential. V

The mechanism for operating the doors is crnnected directly thereto and transmits the necessary movementspreferably ina hor-izontal plane. This arrangement provides a for a direct application of the power, avoiaing chains, links and other intermediate connections liable to wear and disorder, and occupies space of relatively small area. This 3 operating feature may be embodied in mechanisms of various forms. That herev shown consists of horizontal screw shafts 20 journal-ed transversely in the frame adjacentto supports'l2, and adapted to travel on each shaft r. e internally screw-threaded sleeves fil secured to the door ends coinci-1'1 5 dent with wheels 13. Itwill .be understood that the opposite ends of cachizshaft 20 are I threaded reversely. so' that the,i;d,oors move outwardly when the shafts are rotated in one direction and inward for the .oppo- 1' are provided with sprockets 22,

dumping machine.

site direction. The lateral or outward pressure of the load on the inclined doors excrts force of such an amount that comparatively slight additional force, applied when dumping the car, is necessary to open tllr doors. The pitch of the threads on the shaft is such as to prevent the load pressure alone from opening the doors. The result is that the doors will remain in any intermediate position they may be put, and can never open accidentally. A further advantageof the improved construction is that it is unnecessary to raise the doors to close them. as in many types of doors, which re sults in a great saving of'labon- The opposite bodily movable doors'are thus mechanicallv controlled throughout their opening and closing mcvements. They can neither open nor close suddenl or with a slam. The manual power in t e present embodiment imparted through screw shafts 20, is always sufficient to either open the doors or close them, substantially the same amount of power being required for each operation.

The two shafts 20 for each set of doors from which sprocket chains 23 lead to the short shaft '24 provided with hand wheel 25, whereb the shafts necessarily operate in unison. IT will be understood however that the shafts may be variously operated.

The opposite sides of the car body, for a distance upward from the sloping hopper sides 11, are vertical, as'indicated at 26. and these vertical lines indicate the maximum width clearance of the car. I am enabled to accomplish this by reinforcing the upper portions of the walls by stifi'eners 27 secured to the inner faces thereof and extending downward preferably a short distance over the inclined hopper walls 11. These stiffeners thus overlap stifi'eners 28 for said inclined walls which are arranged on the outer surfaces thereof, there being ample room for the same, and also by this means the sloping surfaces are left free and unobstructed so that there is no opportunity for the material to hang or clog within the hopper when dumping.

The top chord of the car, constituting the top edge thereof consists of the channel 30 of inverted U-section which embraces the whole top edge of the body. A chord of this section presents an economical distribution of metal for resisting all the strains, including those due to supporting the load on the side girders. Also. this form of chord resists the wear and compression strains incident to clamping the car in a car This operation. as is well known. frequently results in injuring th car due to the top r-hord not being sufficiently strong to resist theco'mpression strains placed thereon at such time. A chord of this form also protects the top edge from injury due to the dragging thereover of the dipper of a steam shovel, a source of injury to which this class of cars is constantly subjected.

I am aware that various channel sections have been used for top chords; but the chord here shown is curved throughout its exposed portion so that all of the exposed metal is in compression an arch when resisting pressure from the clamps of a car dumping machine, or impact from a steam shovel dipper.

I claim z- 1. A pair of opposite bodily movable doors for a dump oar inclined when closed.

each door rotatable about an axis located between the upper and lower edges of the door, means for causing said axes to move horizontally with the doors as they open and close, and means for causing the doo-s to move simultaneously;

2. An inclined bodily movable door mounted to roll without raising its center of gravity, and means for holding the door at any position through which it moves.

3. An inclined bodily movable door for a dump car mounLed to lower'its center of gravity while opening, and mechanism for holding the, door at any position through which it moves.

A dump car door movable bodily, means for simultaneously moving opposite edges of the door upwardly and downwardly respectively while moving bodily, and horizontally shifting means connected to the door for moving it bodily.

5. dump car door movable bodily, means for simultaneously moving opposite edges of the door upwardly and downwardly respectively a screw shaft, a sleeve traveling on the shaft, and an operative connection between the sleeve and door for effecting the bodily movement of the latter.

6. A door for a dump car movable bodily, screw shafts arranged transversely of the door. sleeves on the shafts pivotally connectcd to the door, and means for turning the door on said pivotal connections during the movement of the sleeves on the shafts.

7 A door for dump cars movable bodily,

horizontal screw shafts, sleeves on .the

' mechanically controlled horizontally shifting door-actuating' means.

1'. A bottom for car hoppers consisting of inclined bodily movable doors, means for varying the inclination at the doors While opening and closiiw. ind mechanically controlled door actuating means having shift in connections with the doors.

10. A bottom for car hoppers consisting ot' oppositel inclined bodily movable doors meetinq at their lowermost edges, means common to the doors f r moving them bodily toward and from each other. and means for intfrea ing' the inclination of the doors as they mow apart ]1. A. bottom tor car hoppers consisting ol oppositely in l ned bodily mo able doors meeting at their lowermost ei'lges. means (-onnnon to the doors for moving th m bodily away from each other. and means or increasing the inclination of the (iUOl'r as they more apart.

IL. A bottom For ear hoppers consisting of oppositelr inclined doors meeting at, their lm ermost edges means mmable in a horizontal plane tor moving the doors away from each othe". and means for increasing the inclination of the doo s as they separate.

1 1 A bottom for car hopper consisting of laterally mova le oppt')si'tely inclined doors, supports. wheels carried by the doors and engaging the supports, the supports and wheels heing arranged to maintain the doors constantly inclined, a serew shaft and threadml shades connected to the doors id em racing the shafts.

H. A hottom tor car hoppe s consisting of opposite y inrl ned doors, supports for the doors. the enter portions of the supports disposed horizontally and their inner portions inclined wheels on the doors for the horizontal and in lined portions of the supports. and door actuating means.

15. A bottom for car hoppers coi'isisting ot' oppositely inclined doors. supports for the doors; the outer portions of the sup ports disposed horizontally and their inner portions inclined. wheels on the doors for the horizontal and inclined portions of th supports door aria-axing means, and opera tin: tunnel-lions i-etween said means and llilkt rtions oi the doors movin over the horizontal part of the supports.

bottom for car hoppers consisting o i i siielr int-lined doors meeting at their loner-mod edg and nrnahle laterally in op; (W l diiet-iions. supports having horixontal portions oinriiient with the outer pull of the doors an-l depressed portions l'lil'illllli with the inner portions of the 'l'd'l lill'aiitlkt'l i-aleevt-s carried by the porlion o: the d ors which traverse the horirontal parts of the supports, and screw ;-ii;: it on hit-h the sleeves are moun ed.

IT. in a l ottioni for ear hoppers, a bodily iiioiahle door inclined when closed, sup- :is mer which the higher and lower portions oi the door move and arranged to inrrease the inclination of the door While pening. and actuating means connected to the door coincident with the uppermost supports.

lb. A pair of roiler-supported bodily mm a le hJOl'S tor a dump ear inclined when (lose! and n'mnnted to increase their inlination while ri'illing open without rais mg the center ol' gravity of either door, and int-a common to the two doors for rolling them sinmltaneonsly when opening and \Knei: closing.

in testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of tw o witnesses.

CHARLES H. CLARK.

\i'itnesses:

.lxo. J. FITZGERALD, .l. M. NESBI'I. 

